1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pick-up truck accessories, specifically to such accessories which are used for the purpose of mobile storage of tools and/or other items.
The present invention relates to pin-less hinges. Specifically, the present invention relates to moisture tight hinges being used on toolboxes, machinery and/or other devices. This invention also relates to locks. Specifically, the present invention relates to theft protected locks being used on toolboxes, machinery and/or other devices.
2. Related Art
Pick-up truck up-fitters and outfitters and home improvement stores commonly provide consumers with toolboxes which can be mounted into the bed and/or on the railing of a pick-up truck. These toolboxes generally are used to store tools and/or other goods enabling the user to perform his/her job function. That job function may fall into the categories of Trades People, Service, Mill Wrights, Heavy Machinery, Mechanical Maintenance and/or Repair, Hunter, Hobby Enthusiasts or other category in which the user has a need for mobile storage and easy access to those stored objects. These mobile storage units may generically be referred to as utility bodies and/or other high-mount toolboxes.
These traditional storage units open outward and toward the user. Anywhere from four (4) to five (5) inches of useable space is lost. This limits the user to only being able to store smaller hand tools. The storage device limits the size of items placed in the storage device to an item considerably smaller than the storage device. Mounting excessively large, expensive toolboxes is required to meet the needs of the user. Because of the limited space and lost upper storage space due to the outward opening door, a user needing to carry larger hand tools (such as a large circular saw or grinder or hand drill or tool chest) were required to store such items outside of their toolboxes and exposed to weather causing corrosion and damaging these larger hand tools.
Traditional high mount toolboxes open outward. The outward opening infringes upon the user's ability to easily access his/her tools. The user was forced to reach up and over the door causing strain to the user's back. The user must pull his/her tools out onto the door ledge for easier work accessibility. Then, during the job clean-up phase, the user is required to take an additional clean-up step to place tools back into the storage unit; thus, the user loses valuable work time.
The square shape of such current storage units restricts the user's rear-view driving visibility causing potential traffic accidents. The slide-in cargo enclosures further restricts the driver's rear-view visibility.
Water, especially during a hard thunder storm, will seep through hinges in prior art. Tools can be damaged from corrosion.
Other storage units use a cam-action-slam latch or a simple deadbolt which enables dishonest passer-bys to violate the door opening and steal valuable tools inside. The cam-action locks can easily be popped out of their latch pin. The deadbolts can be popped out of their home, locked position.
Originally storage utility bodies were directly mounted onto the frame of the vehicle. This caused holes to be drilled directly into the vehicle, structurally altering the vehicle, and making change-outs unsightly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,952 to Albertini (1997) discloses a slide-in storage body which can be placed into the bed of the pick-up without damage to the pick-up; however, this storage unit is one piece. Albertini's invention can not be reconfigured post manufacture.
Bed-liners lose large amounts of usable storage space by failing to capitalize on the space between the rear wheel-wells and potential for utilizing this space not only for storage, but also for stake pockets to double deck the main part of the pick-up bed.
Hinges
Traditional hinges have two symmetrical halves held together with a pin. An example might be a piano hinge or a common house door hinge. A clearance gap exists between the hinge halves in order for the parts to freely rotate.
This traditional design on previous hinges limited usage and adaptability in harsh weather environments. If unprotected, moisture seeps through the joints. Weather stripping is required to protect the hinge being utilized outside. Without this protection, moisture traveling through the hinge will get into the unit and destroy other parts within the article and/or machine.
The only way to weather proof the prior art hinge is to enclose the hinge preventing weather from touching the hinge; thus, creating an additional protective guard part. In U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 6,976,290 B2 Boyer recognizes the need for hinges to provide weather tight service and aesthetic appeal. However, his hidden hinge requires a hinge pin or extraneous piece in order to properly function. This limits the design ability and/or function because provision must be made to protect the hinge from weather elements. The protective guard can cause as much as two (2) to three (3) inches of usable space to be lost. The superfluous weather seal piece might cause increased cost of production. Each additional piece within a design has the potential to cause more warranty failure issues. The weather seal additionally causes an aesthetically displeasing appendage and adds significant weight to the design. Finally, the superfluous protective guard limits the shape of the attached workpiece door opening.
Other pipe-on-pipe hinges such as might be found in a shower stall and/or picture frame function well when placed in a vertically positioned hinge. The vertical position allows gravity to push the moisture down vs. around and into the hinge. However, when used in an outside, and/or moist environment positioning the hinge horizontally would cause capillary action water to run through the hinge and into the enclosure; thus, causing water damage to items stored within the storage unit.
Workers such as trades people, service, mill wrights, heavy machinists, mechanical maintenance workers and/or repair, hunters, hobby enthusiasts or other category of person needing mobile storage often utilize utility bodies, cross-body toolboxes, high-mount toolboxes or other form of mobile storage. These persons regularly open and close the doors to these storage units and these storage units are subject to extreme changes within weather climate.
Due to previous limitations of the hinges used, these traditional storage units open outward toward the user. Anywhere from four (4) to five (5) inches of useable space is lost. This limits the user to only being able to store smaller hand tools. The storage device limits the size of items placed in the storage device to an item considerably small than the storage device. Mounting excessively large, expensive toolboxes is required to meet the needs of the user. Because of the limited space and lost upper storage space due to the outward opening door, a user needing to carry larger hand tools (such as a large circular saw or grinder or hand drill or tool chest) is required to store such items outside of their storage units and exposed to weather causing corrosion and damaging these larger hand tools.
The outward opening further infringes upon the user's ability to easily access his/her tools. The user is forced to reach up and over the door causing strain to the user's back. The user must pull his/her tools out onto the door ledge for easier work accessibility. Then, during the job clean-up phase the user was required to take an additional clean-up step to place tools back into the storage unit; thus, the user loses valuable work time.
U.S. Patent Pending 2005/0145527 A1 to Christensen discloses an upward opening door allowing the user to easily access his/her tools and allowing the weather tight storage of larger hand tools; however, the hinge opening this upward opening door protrudes into the truck bed when open. Full utilization of the storage space within the truck bed or space behind the storage unit can not be capitalized on. Should this storage unit be mounted on a stationary location and/or railing, the toolbox would not be able to be flush with the wall it would more than likely be mounted against. Thus, valuable storage and user space is lost. Additionally, the user is limited in his/her ability to fully utilize the space behind the storage unit and the storage unit itself. He/she must choose to fully utilize the storage unit, but not the space behind it. Or, to fully utilize the space behind the storage unit, but not the storage unit.
Locks
Traditionally, toolboxes are closed with either a dead-bolt locking mechanism, a slam latch, or a rotary cam latch locking mechanism. Depending on which method is chosen, one, two or three points of contact with the given assembly is needed per latch.
A deadbolt lock utilizes a handle which rotates a bolt or rod to extend outwardly from an edge. The bolt or rod is engaged when extended outwardly and fitted into some type of a receiver. When not engaged the bolt or rod moves toward the deadbolt handle.
These deadbolt locks may have one, two, or a plurality of rods that act as the latching mechanism(s). Each bolt or rod makes one point of contact. To increase the resistance to forced entry, the dead-bolt may have three points of contact with the third being at the center of the door. The greater the number of contact points, the greater the security level. When only two points of contact are used, theft easily occurs. The thief pries on the center of the door and the door bends at the center causing the two-point deadbolt to be pulled out of the receiver. Thus, a third point on contact at the center of the door must be used to prevent the middle of the door from popping out. The longer the door/lid, the more important the third point on contact becomes when using a dead-bolt locking mechanism. Generally, a toolbox utilizing a deadbolt needs at least three points of contact to maintain security.
There is a need in the art for a simple locking system with greater security than a comparable traditional two-point deadbolt locking system, and for lower cost than a 3-point deadbolt.
Slam-latches may have one latch assembly at the center of the door. Or, to increase the security of the door/lid two slam-latches per door/lid may be used. The slam-latches generally have a single point of contact at the center of the door. A thief can easily pry the ends of the doors open to break into the box. To insure security on a long door, two slam-latches are necessary which doubles the cost. Slam-latches can get out of adjustment with wear and tear and/or not be properly adjusted. They have multiple moving parts that tend to wear out and require extra maintenance for lubrication and part replacement. Finally, safety is a concern. A user slamming the given workpiece shut but not taking care to insure that other persons standing next to him/her have their fingers out of the given workpiece, can easily damage an onlooker's hand and/or finger(s). The slam-latches tend to not latch. When being used for mobile storage, the user risks the door wiggling open while driving. The open door may cause the user to lose valuable stored items, or worse potentially causing an automobile accident due to objects falling unexpectedly and haphazardly falling into the roadway.
Another latch mechanism is referred to as a rotary, cam latch. The cam latches by rotating and capturing a latch pin such as in car doors. A cam latch generally has one point of contact with the door/lid. To increase security, two points of contact may be used. Like slam-latches, rotary cam latches present a multitude of problems. They can be difficult to adjust. They are complex with many moving parts and are prone to failure. Most rotary latches have a two position latch. In first position the door is shut. In second position the door is shut tightly. If not tightly shut into second position the door can easily become ajar while driving. Movement will breech the weather seal and/or totally open the door or lid. As when using the slam-latch, the user may lose valuable stored items and/or potentially cause an accident if tools fall into the road way.
In the toolbox industry, most deadbolt locks have two deadbolts that are linearly opposed to each other. They act by moving away from each other, or outwardly, with a short pin that engages a receiver. A receiver might be a simple hole or an angle that the rod slips behind. Or, the receiver mechanism might be adjustable.
There is a need in the art:
to create hinged doors on the toolbox sections which open upward to a minimum height above the base of the compartment; to provide an ergonomically correct access; to utilize gas springs hold the doors up out of the way, so both hands can be used to remove or to insert work tools in the compartments so as to create a built-in work station; to allow greater visibility to the rear of the vehicle than previously conceived toolboxes, thus reducing blind spots to the rear of the pickup truck and improving safety and visibility; to provide the consumer with a weather resistant hinge; to utilize a reverse deadbolt; thereby, forbidding theft; to allow the user to mix-and-match brands of top storage unit attached to the bottom storage unit or bed-liner and to provide the user flexibility to mount the storage units directly to the side-rails of the pick-up or to the bed-liner; thereby, providing the consumer with an option to utilize the toolbox storage compartments separately from the bed-liner; to maximize and utilize the storage space above the rear wheel wells; to maximize and utilize the storage space behind the rear wheel wells. to provide a cost efficient, simple design; to provide a latching mechanism with fewer parts than the current 3-point deadbolt but with greater security; to provide a deadbolt latching mechanism which positively engages its receiver or latch pin; to provide a latching mechanism which has two points of contact to its' attached workpiece; to provide a latching mechanism which has two points of contact at the ends of the attached workpiece; to provide a theft resistant locking mechanism; to provide a theft resistant locking mechanism which continues to provide theft resistance when attached to a long workpiece; to provide a secure locking mechanism where the user can feel and see that the door is securely latched. Thus, the user does not have to fear that the door will open will driving down the highway; and to provide a latching mechanism which locks tighter when a thief attempts to pry the door open.